1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to minimally invasive devices, methods for delivering therapeutic or diagnostic agents into a vessel wall of a patient, and methods of treating various conditions or diseases of the vessel wall.
2. Background Information
A number of techniques have been developed for injecting therapeutic agents, such as drugs and bioactive agents, near or into the walls of vessels and surrounding tissues.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,099 to Mirzaee described a catheter for injecting medication to a specific point within a patient, where the catheter includes a mechanism for angularly pushing an injection port outwardly away from the body of the catheter into an artery wall so that medication can be injected directly into the artery wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,554 to Green described an apparatus and a method for delivering a therapeutic or diagnostic agent into extravascular tissue surrounding a body passageway, which includes a catheter having a sheath, a tubular member, and a plurality of hollow needles on a distal end of the tubular member. The tubular member of Green is selectively movable between delivery position, wherein the plurality of hollow needles are retracted within the sheath, and an extended position, wherein the plurality of hollow needles extend beyond a distal endface of the sheath to pierce and penetrate extravascular tissue.
There still exists a need for improved minimally invasive devices capable of delivering therapeutic or diagnostic agents into the vessel wall at multiple treatment locations without going through the outer vessel wall and into the extravascular tissue.